Railroad-gate



(No Model.)

M. B. MILLS.

RAILROAD GATE.

No. 424,074. Patented Mar. 25, 1890.

I I 'I 111,111,111 I' UNITED STATES `PATENT OEEIcE.

MORTIMER B. MILLS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAI LROAD-GAT E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,074, dated March25, 1890.

Application led January 20, 1890- Serial No. 337,509. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, MOETIMER B. MILLS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State Aof Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Railroad-Gates, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of gates commonlyprovided at railway-crossings, and comprising verticallyswinging arms onposts and actuated by pneumatic pressure.

The object of my invention is to provide simple mechanism, both as toconstruction and cost, and which is reliably and readily operative, forproducing by pneumatic force the raising and lowering of the arm or armsof the gate.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in broken sectionalelevation of a railroad gate provided with my improvement applied to agate formed with two posts carrying counterbalanced arms connectedunderground to cause the raising or lowering of one to producesimultaneously the raising or lowering of the other, and Fig. 2 a viewin elevation of a detail.

A and A are hollow gate-posts of ordinary or any suitable general formand construction, and B and B' are the counterbalanced arms supported,respectively, by the said posts on shafts C, j ournaled in the postsnear their upper ends, and to which the gate-arms are secured. Eachshaft C has integral or cast with it between its ends a larger pulley D,which should be peripherally grooved, `as shown, and at or on oneof itssides a smaller pulley D', which should also-be peripherally grooved,but of which only one-half, as shown, or an even smaller segment, isrequired.

E and E' are bell-cranks, each pivoted at its angle inside a gate-poston a shaft r, journaled in the opposite sides of the post, near the rearor outer side thereof, the bell-cranks in the two posts being soadjusted as to cause their arms q to extend in opposite directions ortoward each other. The bell-crank E is connected from its arm q, by achain p or analogous connecting medium, with the segment D' in the postA, and the arm q o f the bell-crank E' is similarly connected, by achain p or the like, with the adjacent segment D', the connecting-chainsp and p' being adjusted to extend in the same direction about theperipheries of the segments D and fastened to the farthest extremitiesthereof. In their relatively normal positions the arrangement of partsis preferably such as to cause the straight side of one of thesemicircular segments D to extend vertically, as shown at the right-handside in Fig. l, while that of the other, as shown at the left-hand sidethereof, extends horizontally.

The arms B and B are connected together underground in amanner to causethe raising or lowering of one to raise or lower with it the other. Toeffect such operation I prefer to employ the means illustrated,comprising a tube F, embedded in the ground and extending from one postto the other, being provided at its opposite extremities withwater-tight chambers F', each of which has j ournaled within it a pulleyo, a rod n in the tube, and chains m and m', or the like, extending fromthe opposite ends of the rod about the pulleys o through tubes F2,projecting vertically from the chambers F' into the bases of the posts Aand A', the chains being extended in the same direction upon and securedat their extremities, as shown, to the peripheries of the pulleys D. Ofcourse the chains m and fm may be av continuous chain connecting thepulleys D x through the underground tube F, thereby dispensing with therod n, though the construction shown is preferable.

Adjacent to the inner sides of the posts A and A', near their b ases,are supported ythe collapsible air-receivers G and G', each of which maybe of the commonv construction illustrated, and comprising a shellhaving clamped between the edges of its two halves a diaphragm l, ofelastic material, (preferably rubber and canvas in alternate layers,)such or substantially such as is shown in Letters Patent of the UnitedStates No. 387,435, granted me on the 17th day of April, 1888.

Rods k, secured each at one end to the center of the diaphragm in theirrespective receivers G and G', extend through the shells of the latterand adjacent sides of the posts A and A' into coincidence with the endsof the depending arms q of the bell-cranks E and E', and are pivotallyconnected with the IOO same, as shown. Each collapsible receiver device(which thus forms a species of piston mechanism) communicates from theinner side of its shell through a pipe 'i with a fourway Valve 7L, (ofwell-known construction, and ,y

forcing the piston-rod thereof against the arm q' of the bell-crankE',which lowers the arm q thereof, pulling the chain p downward andturning the respective segment D' in the direction to produce lowering'of the gatearm B'. This turning of the said segment D' causes the pulleyD to draw upon the chain m', and thus through the underground connectionturn the pulley D of the post A in the direction to lower the gate-armB.

To raise the gate-arms, the valve h is adjusted to direct theairpressure against the diaphragm of the receiver G, causing itspiston-rod k to force the arm g' of the bell-crank E outward and the armq downward, with the effect of drawing' upon the chain p to turn itssegment D in the direction to eifeet raising of the arm B, and therebyturning' the respective pulley D to draw the underground connection inthe direction in which it turns the pulley D of the post A' to raise thearm B'.

The vertically-projecting tubes F2 extend sufficiently high inside thegate-posts to be beyond the water-line of any water that may accumulatein the posts, thereby preventingthe access of moisture to theunderground mechanism and consequent injury thereto by freezing.

y There a gate is composed of a single swinging arm on a post, which armshould then be weighted at one end, of course but one collapsiblereceiver, piston rod, bellcrank and shaft, with its smaller pulleydevice, is required, and inthat case, obviously, the undergroundconnection is not needed. Such construction is intended to be includedin my improvement.

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a gate, the combination of a hollow post, a swinging arm supportedon a shaft C, journaled in the post and carrying a pulley D', abell-crank pivotally supported inside the post and having its arm qconnected with the said pulley by a chain or the like, a collapsibleair-receiver having a rod 7c, secured at one end to its diaphragm and atits opposite end to the arm q' of the bell-crank, and airpressuremechanism communicating with the said collapsible air-receiver,substantially as described.

2. ln a gate, the combination of a hollow post, a swinging arm supportedon a shaft C, journaled in the post and carrying a pulley D', abell-crank pivotally supported inside the postand having its arm (jconnected with the said pulley by a chain or the like, a collapsibleair-receiver supported outside the post near its base, a rod k, securedat one end to the diaphragm of the said receiver, passing thence intothe post and pivoted at its opposite end to the arm q' of thebell-crank, and an air-pump Il, communicating' controllably with thesaid collapsible air-receiver, substantially as described.

.3. In a gate, the combination of the hollow posts A and A', having'journaled in them the shafts C, carrying inside the post pulleys D,connected underground bctweenthe posts and pulleys D' and supporting thearms B and B', bell-cranks E and E', pivotally supported, respectively,in the posts A and A' and connected from their arms q with the pulleysD', collapsible air-receivers G and G', each having a rod k, secured atone end to its diaphragm, and at its opposite end to the arm q ofabellcrank, and air-pressure mechanism communieating' eontrollabl y withthe collapsible ai r-rcceivers, substantially as described.

i. In a gate, the combination of the hollow posts A and A', havingjournalcd in them the shafts l, each carryinginside its posts pulleys Dand D' and supporting the arms B and B', a tube F, extending'underground between the posts and having chambers F at its oppositeends, containing pulleys o, means, substantially as described,connecting the pulleys D through the tube F and chambers F', bellcranksE and E', pivotally supported, respectively, in the posts A and A' andconnected from their arms q with the pulleys D', collapsibleair-receivers G and G', each having a rod 7L', secured at one end to itsdiaphragm and at its opposite end to the arm q' 01": a bellcrank, and air-prcssure mechanism communicating controllably with the collapsibleair-receivers, substantially as set forth.

5. In a gate, the combination of the hollow posts A and A', havingjournaled in themthe shafts C, each carrying inside its post pulleys Dand D and supporting' the arms B and B', a tube F, extending undergroundbetween the IOO IIO

posts and having chambers F' at its opposite f ends, containing pulleyso,tubes F2, extending from the said chambers into the posts, means,substantially as described, connecting' the pulleys D through the tubesF and F2 and chambers F', bell-cranks E and E', pivotally supported,respectively, in the posts A and A' and connected from their arms q withthe pulleys D', collapsible air-receivers G and G', each having' a rod71:, secured at one end toits diaphragm and at its opposite end to thearm q of a bell-crank, and air-pressure mechanism communicating contlollabl y with the said collapsible air-receivers, substantially as setforth.

6. A gate comprising, in combination, hollovT posts A and A', shafts C,journaled in the posts and having each as integral parts thereof apulley D and a pulley D', arms B and B', supported on the said shafts, atube F, extending underground between the posts and having chambers F'at :its opposite ends, containing pulleys 0, tubes F2, extending fromthe said chambers into the posts, a rod n in the tube F, chains m andm', or the like, respectively connecting the pulleys D with oppositeends of the rod n and passing through the tubes F2 and over the pulleyso in the chambers F',

bell-cranks E and E', pivotally supported, re-

lspectively, in the posts A and A and con-

